Student Channel

Inclusion and Diversity Week: It's 'Just a Toilet'

In our continuous drive to improve the University’s facilities for staff and students, we are pleased to announce the introduction of gender neutral toilets across campus. 'Just a toilet’ – a joint campaign from the Diversity & Inclusion team, askUS and the Students' Union - aims to dispel the myths around ungendered toilets and coincides with Salford Inclusion and Diversity Week.

“This is a really positive step,” said Susan Clark, Inclusion and Diversity Manager. “Gender neutral bathroom facilities provide a safer and more welcoming space to someone who may be trans or may not identify with the male or female gender binary. Additionally, other people might just prefer to use non gendered toilets. The introduction of these facilities on campus will hopefully remove the pressure some have of whether to use men's of women's bathrooms. It's our opportunity to provide everyone with a choice of gendered, non-gendered and accessible facilities in academic and administrative buildings, so that everyone has access to a bathroom where they can feel safe.”

“We all use gender neutral toilets every day in our houses, on the train and at a party on Saturday night,” adds Student and Graduate Diversity Officer Arron Pile, “Our ‘Just a toilet’ campaign is all about assuring people it’s really not that big of a deal.”

There will still be plenty of male and female toilets for staff to use in each building; gender neutral toilets will just give colleagues another option. “It’s Salford Inclusion and Diversity Week, making it the perfect opportunity to launch our ‘Just a toilet’ campaign - we’re hoping colleagues will really get behind it,” said Inclusion and Diversity Officer Gemma Lomas.

Abby Crawford, Client Group Manager at Stonewall, said: "Just because you don’t know of any trans or non-binary staff or service users does not meant that they don’t exist. Accessibility is not a word that just applies to disabled people, we should be making spaces fully accessible for all groups."

Follow Salford Inclusion and Diversity Week on twitter using the hashtag #SIDWeek.

Click here to find our inclusivity map where, among other things, you'll be able to find gender neutral toilets on campus. Please note, this is an evolving map and we will be adding more details shortly - if there's something in particular you'd like to see on it please do let the team know at Equality@salford.ac.uk.

If you have any questions or feedback you'd like to share please email Equality@salford.ac.uk and your message will be passed on to the appropriate person.